--- title: Ben Carson: The GOP's Accidental Candidate for President description: A candidate reluctantly follows the public tug into the presidential ring canonical: https://time.com/3845535/ben-carson-the-gops-accidental-candidate-for-president/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-04T19:42:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:11.568Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ben Carson: The GOP's Accidental Candidate for President og:description: A candidate reluctantly follows the public tug into the presidential ring og:url: https://time.com/3845535/ben-carson-the-gops-accidental-candidate-for-president/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54de2201d0f60cfe/6987ee38f887dc6efbe8e4d9/ben-carson-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Republican U.S. presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson officially launches his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in Detroit on May 4, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson: The GOP's Accidental Candidate for President twitter:description: A candidate reluctantly follows the public tug into the presidential ring twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54de2201d0f60cfe/6987ee38f887dc6efbe8e4d9/ben-carson-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson: The GOP's Accidental Candidate for President  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. May 4, 2015 7:42 PM UTC  Republican U.S. presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson officially launches his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in Detroit on May 4, 2015. Republican U.S. presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson officially launches his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in Detroit on May 4, 2015.Rebecca Cook—Reuters  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. May 4, 2015 7:42 PM UTC “I’m not a politician,” Ben Carson said as he launched his bid for President of the United States. “I don’t want to be a politician.” Carson’s campaign rollout was laced with such unconventional moments. There was the unusual announcement [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbh2zSNyjLk). The gospel choir’s cover of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” The doctor’s grave diagnosis of the nation’s maladies. But the strangest part was the candidate’s declaration of disinterest. Candidates often profess ambivalence about seeking the presidency as a way to mask their ambition. It seems reasonable to take Carson at his word. Running for office,[ Carson told TIME early last year](http://time.com/23001/conservatives-inc/), “has never been something that I have a desire to do.” In the months since, he’s been repeating this disclaimer to anyone who asks, even as he crept closer and closer to jumping in. “It continues to be something that I don’t want to do,” he [told](//www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ben-carson-republican-president-2016/2014/05/21/id/572717/#ixzz3ZBqQcdKq) Newsmax last spring. Asked a few weeks back how he’d feel if his campaign failed, Carson [told](http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/may15/advocacy2.asp) the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons: “Actually, I would say ‘Whew!’, because it’s not something I ever really wanted to do, and the only reason I’d consider it is because there’s so many people across the nation clamoring for me to do it.” The most striking thing about Carson’s candidacy is the sense that he is an accidental candidate, a man living out someone else’s fantasy. To understand why Carson would try to win a job he never wanted, it helps to trace his transformation from vaunted neurosurgeon to conservative folk hero. Carson became a grassroots icon after denouncing Democratic policies in front of President Obama at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. Here was a gifted black doctor with a remarkable personal story, who preached the conservative gospel of small-government and self-reliance with the fervor of a convert. Fundraising gurus saw green. A few months after the prayer breakfast, John Philip Sousa IV—the great-grandson of the composer—asked the veteran GOP fundraiser Bruce Eberle to test Carson’s support among conservative donors. The first solicitation for Carson was sent out Aug. 16\. It quickly became clear the group had a direct-mail superstar on their hands. During the 2014 cycle, the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee netted more than $13.5 million, [according to the Center for Responsive Politics](https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?cycle=2014&strID=C00548420)—more than Ready for Hillary raked in from Clinton supporters. It [paid out healthy sums](http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-ben-carson-super-pac-is-pretty-lucrative-for-the-people#.cmnRNzvv55) to staffers in the process. When asked, Carson said that it would be wrong not to listen when supporters clamored for his leadership. Though he had inspired a movement, it was never clear if Carson himself was prisoner or participant in the effort. “His life changed after that prayer breakfast. He sensed it immediately. But he was in denial,” explains Armstrong Williams, Carson’s business manager. “He had to know that this was what the American people wanted. . . . The seed had been planted. All he needed was for everyday people to water it.” There was another hurdle. Candy Carson, the candidate’s wife, was opposed to a campaign, Williams says, and it was only during a trip to Israel last December that she heard the cries of supporters and finally got on board. “That was the epiphany,” Williams says. By February, Carson was all but in. If he’s still wary of winning, his long-shot status should put him at ease. Carson is running a distant eighth in a competitive 2016 race, according to a recent RealClearPolitics [average](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016%5Frepublican%5Fpresidential%5Fnomination-3823.html) of early polls. The GOP has never picked a nominee with no governing or military experience. And Carson’s record of incendiary rhetoric could thwart the crossover appeal his supporters claim. Every four years, a handful of people harness the spotlight of a presidential campaign to pursue goals unrelated to elected office. They want to goose book sales or a promote TV program or grab a Cabinet post. But Carson, Williams says, is running purely for love of country. “He’s not running to sell books. He’s not running for notoriety, or to be someone’s vice president,” Williams says. “There’s no loss for him. No mater what the outcome is.” _Read next:_ [_Dr. Ben Carson: Baltimore Rioting Is ‘Truly Senseless’_](http://time.com/3838868/ben-carson-baltimore-riots/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3845535/ben-carson-the-gops-accidental-candidate-for-president/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3845535/ben-carson-the-gops-accidental-candidate-for-president/"},"headline":"Ben Carson: The GOP's Accidental Candidate for President","datePublished":"2015-05-04T19:42:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:11.568Z","description":"A candidate reluctantly follows the public tug into the presidential ring","url":"https://time.com/3845535/ben-carson-the-gops-accidental-candidate-for-president/","keywords":["2016 Election topic","Dr. Benjamin S. 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